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Smoktech Standard DCT Maintenance Tutorial
This method works best as an assembly line. When working with multiple tanks at once, do all steps in each section for each tank/carto before moving onto the next step. Once you’ve got the steps down, it should take you only 10 minutes from start to vape for each cartotank you’re cleaning and filling. Following the tank steps carefully will help you to extend the life of your tanks’ o-rings. Obviously, if you are preparing tanks for the first time, skip to section 3. Also, the tutorial below is ridiculously detailed, almost insultingly so. I thought this way would help even the clumsiest person to follow this guide exactly to optimize their maintenance time. 1. Assembling what you need 1.1 Here’s everything you need to prepare 2 tanks at once. 1.2 Your cleaning supplies You only need a small dollop of dish soap, no need to go crazy If you’re doing more than two tanks at once, you may need to make the “Drying” and “Placing wet parts” towels a full sheet. But no sense wasting paper towels if you don’t need to. 2. Disassembly and rinsing 2.1 Pull out the drip tip *Give it a good rinse under warm water *Toss it in the soapy water bowl 2.2 Remove the carto *Press your finger into the top of the carto and push in *The carto should come out the bottom enough for you grab the flange 2.2.1 Pull it out *Pull it right out and put it aside to be thrown out during cleanup. 2.3 Remove the caps and rinse *Use your thumbnail to gently work the cap out of the tube. *Don’t force it, you don’t want to damage the o-ring, you want these things to last *It should come out pretty easily if you keep lifting all around the edge *Rinse both caps and toss them in the soapy water bowl 2.4 Rinse the tube *After a good rinse, toss it in the soapy water to soak *Repeat these steps for the other tanks you’re preparing *The parts will soak in the soapy water while you’re doing the next section 3. Filling the cartos Video of Section 3 3.1 Unwrap the cartos *Take out this little rubber stopper and set it aside. It is garbage. 3.2 Fill a condom with juice *I’m using a sample from The Plume Room - Black Cherry Cream Soda and one of my favouries: Indigo Vapor - Purple Mountain Majesty for this tutorial… both delicious flavours. 3.2.1 Level of juice in condom *Fill the condom until the juice is about 2-3mm from the top. 3.3 Insert the carto into the juice-filled condom *Gently push the carto into the tube *The best way to do this is to rotate the carto inside the tube while pushing down in short, repeated “jumps” *It should take about 10 seconds to reach the bottom *The carto should take all of the juice without any bubbles out the top if you go the right speed 3.3.1 Fill the condom again *Pull the carto out of the condom slowly while tipping it upside down *This will let the leftover juice pool in the top of the carto *After a few seconds, the juice should be pulled into the polyfill *Put down the carto and refill the condom *You don’t need to fill it quite as high as the first fill, but it doesn’t hurt or waste anything to do so. 3.4 Filling the rest of the carto *On the second condom-full, you should go a bit slower *The speed at which the polyfill absorbs the juice will depend on the juice’s thickness *As you slowly push the carto down in short, rotating jumps, juice will start to bubble out the top *Each time, the bubble will get sucked back in the carto when you stop pushing 3.4 Finishing off the carto *You’ll know when the carto is full because the bubble on top won’t go back in and a bubble will form on the fill hole *As soon as that fill hole bubble forms, back off and pull the carto slightly up and put the whole thing aside *Move on to your next carto and repeat these steps until they’re all ready *Now, we move onto cleaning the soaking parts. 4. The wash and dry 4.1 Wash the drip tips *I have this little pipecleaner I got from TrippyTips.com *You can use a regular pipe cleaner as long as it fits your drip tips *The pipe cleaner helps keep the inside clean and prevents the previous flavour from carrying over *Scrub the drip tip with your paper towel, rinse and grab the next one 4.2 Scrub and rinse each part *You don’t have to spend a lot of time doing this *No more than 5 seconds per part *The soaking should have loosened up everything, you’re just wiping it off 4.3 clean inside of tanks *Make sure to scrub the inside of the tanks 4.4 Everything clean, wet, and ready to assemble *Use your "Dry" towel to dry the tubes and caps *Don’t worry about the tips as they’ll be dry by the time you need them *Also, don't dry the caps and tubes TOO much, just enough to remove any big drops of water. *If the o-rings, at least, are still moist, the next step is a lot easier 5. Assembly and Filling 5.1 Inserting the caps *This part can be tricky *Some of the caps can fit slightly tighter into the tube *The best way to do this is to just be very gentle *If the cap doesn’t go smoothly in when straight on DON’T FORCE IT *Insert one side of the o-ring into the tank *Then, slowly get the rest of it in by using your fingernail to press in the part of the o-ring that’s almost in and going around the rim *If it is really tight and just won’t go in, try a different cap. Some caps seem to fit some tubes better… *As a last ditch solution, coat the o-ring and the inside rim of the tube with a small amount of the juice going into this tank. It should lubricate it enough to get the o-ring in *Above all else, do not force the o-ring into the tube when it just won’t go *Doing so will make tiny cuts in the o-ring and they will add up and eventually the o-ring can break apart 5.1.1 Close-up of inserting stubborn caps *As I said above, if it is difficult to insert the cap, use your thumbnail to push in the part that is partway into the tank and then move along the o-ring pushing it in *IMPORTANT: Make sure you put a bottom and a top cap on each tank. (The bottom is the cap with the recessed ring for the flange. Inserting stubborn caps 5.2 Blow out the excess juice *Now that all of your tanks are assembled, pull the first carto out of the condom and hold it like this *The flange should be at or in the condom, but not air-tight at all *Put the top to your mouth and blow out the excess juice from the centre of the carto *You don’t have to blow hard. If you blow too hard, you may spray the juice out of the condom *Leave the excess juice in the condom and put it down and grab your special drip tip. Blowing out the carto Full video of tank filling from here to end of tutorial with dropper bottle Full video of tank filling from here to end of tutorial with spout bottle 5.3 Time for that special drip tip *Make sure the drip tip is clean… run it under water and dry it off *Insert the drip tip into the carto 5.3.1 Tip and carto go into the tank bottom *The drip tip and carto should slip right past the inner o-ring *It may get tight once you pass the line where carto is coated in juice *Just gently rotate the carto and work it into the tank 5.3.2 Remove the tip with the carto still inside *Push it through until the top of the drip tip is above the cap *You want the top of the carto to be below the bottom of the cap *Hold the bottom of the carto and pull the drip tip out of it and out of the tank *Leave the carto in the same position 5.3.3 “Bend” the carto in the tank *This step is important and is almost always left out in videos and pictures of how to fill DCTs you’ll find online *With the carto just below the bottom edge of the cap, grip the bottom of the carto and one side of the bottom of the tube and push *The tube should slightly come off the cap on the one side but the o-ring remains sealed *This gives you more than enough room to pour the juice in quickly, while not getting any excess juice in the carto, and lets you fill the tank right to the top. 5.4 Filling the tank with juice *First, squeeze any leftover juice in the condom into the tank with the inside gap down *Set the empty condom aside for later rinsing. Be careful not to accidentally throw it out...I’ve done it. 5.4.1 Filling the rest *Hold the tank in this position and squeeze in your juice *Once you get near the top, start tilting the whole thing upwards *When the juice level reaches the top edge of the carto with it only slightly still tilted, stop filling *Try not to let the juice spill over the top edge of the carto. It's not a big deal if you do, it'll just put more juice in the already full carto *Don’t try to fill the tank right to the very top on your first try * It will take some practice to get it as full as possible without unnecessarily wasting juice *It works equally well with dropper bottles… You can even pour juice in a bottle without a spout or dropper directly into the tank. It can be tricky to get right without spilling anything, but I do it with some juices that come in big bottles without spouts. 5.5 Time to finish the job *While still holding it at a slight angle to prevent juice falling into the carto, put the end of the carto down onto the counter *Place it on top of one of the dry paper towel pieces as sometimes a drop of juice will drop off the bottom of the carto at this point *Hold it with your fingers in this position *Gently press your fingers together to push the bottom cap back into the tube, straightening the tube angle and lining the carto up with the hole in the cap while still keeping it above the juice level 5.5.1 Push the carto up into the cap hole *With the carto aligned with the cap hole, push it up gently into the hole *IMPORTANT do not push the carto top edge past the inner rubber o-ring just yet (or you could cut it) 5.5.2 Put the drip tip back into the carto *With the carto tank still sitting on its end on the paper towel, *Hold the tube with one hand and keep it steady - prevent it from moving up or down on the carto *Push the tip into the cap hole, past the o-ring and into the carto *Do not let the carto move either up or down relative to the tank while doing this *The tip’s rounded edges will slide past the o-ring instead of cutting at it like the carto edge would 5.5.3 Push the tank down *Now just push the tank down and the o-ring will easily slide past the flush-sitting drip tip and carto *You now have a completely full cartotank ready for vaping *If the drip tip you’re using with this tank is loose enough to insert without the tank anchored by being screwed onto your PV, you can insert it now and you’re ready to go and can skip the next step and move onto filling your next tank *Otherwise... 5.6 Attach the cartotank to your PV *If your drip tip fit is too tight to be pushed into the carto on its own (my TrippyTips pyrex tips are) *Grab the cartotank by the tube and gently screw it onto your PV *The tank can spin freely on the carto right now, as well as pull right off the top and spill ALL the juice *So be careful not to pull up on the tank or down with the PV. Seriously. I’ve done it…. 5.6.1 Insert your drip tip *Use the friction of the drip tip’s o-ring(s) to tighten the carto into the connector *Insert the tip all the way *Set your PV to 5.1V (for now, until you break in the carto) *Vape Now is a good time to check the resistance of the carto and make sure it comes up with 2.4-2.5….2.3 at the lowest...if your mod has a resistance-checker feature, that is. If it’s much lower than that or gives an error, the carto might be DOA. It’s rare, but it happens. < Previous Page | Home | Next Page: Smoktech Aluminum-over-Pyrex DCT Maintenance Tutorial >